


As bright as the Stars

by redshineJasper (MrsPummeluff)



Series: Stucky OneShots [17]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, And ends after the first Avengers Movie, Angst, Awesome Peggy Carter, Canon Disabled Character, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Character Deaths because they are old, Dum Dum is old, Engineer Bucky Barnes, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, This basically starts when Bucky is like 10, because, mentions of parental abuse, too stubborn to die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 19:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18534079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsPummeluff/pseuds/redshineJasper
Summary: When you close your eyes, there is a name written. It’s the name of your soulmate shining in the color of their eyes. When he dies, the writing turns white and shines like a star.A story of how Bucky finds his Soulmate and navigates through life





	As bright as the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> So this is basically it... the last thing my beta had done for me before last November. Since I still have NOT found a beta who at least checks grammar for me, I must inform you that this is the last piece I can offer you. I have a lot of pieces started but the thing is I don't really want to upload them before they have been checked so they will gather dust in my WIP Folder on my harddrive. If there is someone out there interested in beta reading for me (not only Stucky but also stuff like JohnLock or maybe even Hetalia and Yuri on Ice fanfics) feel free to leave me a comment. Or contact me on my tumblr (fangirlfaye) or Twitter (MrsPummeluff).
> 
> Love and Enjoy,   
> Faye

“It’s a spell,” his mom had told him once, “A spell conjured by a mighty witch.

“They say she had been in love with a woman. Her soulmate, she had always called her. The witch had been convinced their names were written in the stars together. Every night she closed her eyes and would see only her name, bright as the sun and the stars. One day she caught her with a male lover and it broke the witch’s heart. If this would be a book now, James, the witch would have cursed every man and every woman on this planet. But she didn’t.

“Instead she cast a spell, a mighty spell that should hold until the earth dies and humanity is gone. She wanted other people to be spared from the heartbreak and the loss she had suffered. Every human, from that day on, should see a name written behind his eyelids. Every time a human closes their eyes they should see the name of the person they were destined to be with, to never forget who will keep their heart safe. The name shall shine in the brightness of a star and in the color of their eyes. When one soulmate dies, their name won’t fade. Their name will shine white, in the color of a star, to remind you that they will always be with you and you will never suffer their immortal loss because their name is as much part of their soul and life as their human vessel is. And she was convinced that souls will find each other again, when both left earth to head for the stars.”

“So that means my soulmate’s name is Steven Grant Rogers and he has the most beautiful blue eyes ever?” eight year old Bucky had asked hopeful and his mom had smiled at him.

“If that is what you see,” she had replied and smiling happily, Bucky had turned back to finish his homework.

~°-°~

Bucky was ten when they first learned about Captain America at school.

“When he was 23, after a rigorous selection process, he underwent the final treatment and got injected with the Serum developed by Abraham Erskine. When you open your books on page 66, you can see a photograph that was taken in front of the vita-chamber before the treatment took place. You also may know the man in the background, Howard Stark, owner of Stark Industries in Manhattan. Sadly there is no picture from directly after the treatment, since a member of HYDRA used political connections to gain entrance to the laboratory here in Brooklyn and blow it up before shooting Dr. Erskine which resulted in a chase between the HYDRA Agent and the newly enhanced Steve Rogers. That was his first encounter with the organization….”

His teacher’s voice faded into the background as Bucky looked at the photographs. They were old grayscale pictures of Captain America before and after the serum. Bucky blinked and rubbed his eyes when he saw a blueish shimmer behind the gray of the eyes in the Captain’s eyes. It was gone when he looked again. The subtitle read.

_The only extant picture of Captain America from before the treatment, taken by a young future journalist just a few minutes before the death of Doctor A. Erskine.’_

“Approximately three years after his first encounter with HYDRA in Brooklyn, Captain America steered the unprecedentedly advanced plane, the Valkyrie, into the Arctic Ocean, never to be seen again His actions and ultimate sacrifice on the Valkyrie prevented HYDRA from murdering millions of civilians, escalating World War II into a new phase of indiscriminate slaughter.

“With the results of the Manhattan Project and a public thirst for revenge, it is almost a certainty that Berlin would have become the first test of the United States' atomic arsenal.

“As a result of this actions, Captain America became a benchmark for heroism and patriotism and also the solider most decorated by foreign countries in recognition of his bravery and service to the world as a whole. We will learn more about his involvement in the History and his role during World War II in the upcoming lessons.”

~°-°~

Margaret ‘Peggy’ Carter visited his school when he was thirteen. She was asked about all the times she fought alongside the Howling Commandos and Captain America and the girls in the class told her how much they admired her for being a strong woman who fought for what she believed in and defied what was expected from women back in the thirties.

When the question time was over, the bell had chimed, some kids leaving for home while others stayed to speak to Agent Carter in the front of the classroom. When even the last kids had filed out, Bucky was the last one left.

“Mr. Barnes. What are you still doing here?” his teacher asked curious.

“I would like to asks Ms. Carter one last question, if I may?” he answered, looking hesitantly to his teacher then Ms. Carter.

The 77-year old woman chuckled.

“Such a polite young man. Yes, you may,” she said smiling and he smiled back.

“I wanted to ask, Mrs. Carter, what eye color Captain Rogers had.”

Ms. Carter frowned confused.

“They were bright blue. Like the sky on a bright, clear day. Is there a specific reason for your question, Mr. Barnes?” her eyes were sharp and assessing.

“N… No,” he says quickly, plucking a little, brown notebook from his backpack and jotting down the new information.

Ms. Carter clears her throat and Bucky looks up, noticing that his teacher has left.

“If I may ask, Mr. Barnes, out of curiosity,” she adds. “What is your full name?”

“James Buchanan Barnes, ma’am,” he replies dutifully. Ms. Carter takes in a sharp breath of air.

“And your soulmate’s name is Steven Grant Rogers in a shade of blue?” she pressed hesitantly and Bucky nods and furrows his brow.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Tentatively Bucky shows her a page from his notebook, a paint chip from a hardware store carefully taped down onto the page. Azure Skies, the chip proclaims.

"Yes, that's exactly right, Mr Barnes." Then she purses her lips. “Interesting. Then we shall see how this plays out, James, if I may call you James.”

He raises an eyebrow at her and nods. She laughs.

“Tell me, James. You’re a smart boy. Have you figured it out by now?”

“Do you think this means that Steve is alive?”

“It very well seems so. We traded information of our soulmates one night around the campfire, the Commandos, Steve and I. And Steve told me your name and said the stars look like an iced over lake we saw on a mission in eastern France, gray and blue mixing. And when I look into your eyes, I may very well guess that he saw the same color every night.”

Bucky smiles at her and he feels like tears are welling up in his eyes but he fights them. He was thirteen and boys his age don’t cry.

“If you ever have any more questions about Steve or ever just want to talk about him, come and see me or give me a call. I live here in Brooklyn since my wife died.”

She hands him a card with her number and her address. He smiles at her brightly.

“Thank you, Ms. Carter.”

“And call me Peggy, James. I promised Steve I’d be there for his soulmate, should I ever meet him.”

~°-°~

When Bucky is fifteen, his mom dies in childbirth and his sister along with her, not even taking her first breath of air. Shortly after, his father starts drinking. He spends more and more time at Peggy’s, who had become something like an aunt to him. When he comes over for his sixteenth birthday in 2001, Peggy pushes a bunch of papers over to him.

“What are these, Aunt Peg?” he asks and she smiles sadly.

“Tony’s lawyers helped me, and we’ve found a sympathetic judge. Just one call and I can get the adoption done without your father’s consent if you want me to, James.” She lightly traces the black eye he had gotten from his father as a present. Tears well up in his eyes and he keeps his eyes trained on the table.

“It’s not that bad,” he tries and his voice gets thick. “It’s only two more years.”

“James.” Peggy sighs and clasps her fragile looking hands in a strong grasp around his left hand. A sob makes it through and a tear rolls down his cheek and lands on the paper.

“Please, Aunt Peggy,” he whispers, voice broken and raw. Peggy stands up and gives him a bag of peas from the freezer and makes the call to Tony’s lawyer.

Two weeks later, while his father is at work, Tony helps him move his stuff to Peggy’s apartment, with Peggy and Maria Stark sipping tea and supervising.

“If you need something, anything, just give me a call. We are family.” These moments of blunt honesty and care are rare for Tony, who usually shows it through teasing and presents he’d probably never need and Bucky takes this rare moment of care.

Takes the quick hug Tony gives him, the peck on the cheek from his mother Maria. She invites him to come by the mansion before the Stark Expo. It probably will be Howard’s last due to his health, she says.

“Do you have an idea what you want to do when you graduate?” Peggy asks that night and he looks up.

“I wanted to do something that makes Steve proud,” he says, face flushing. “But then I don’t think becoming a cop or joining the Army would do much good. Especially if I die in Afghanistan or somewhere else before I meet him.”

Peggy hums in affirmation.

“Why do you think that would make him proud?”

He smiles.

“I don’t really think that. Anymore, at least. It would just be following his footsteps. Then I thought about studying history,” he shrugs, “Focusing on World War II maybe.”

“You could join SHIELD, become an Agent there. You like technology. Work with Tony, study engineering. I think SHIELD and Tony would be happy to have you.”

“I don’t want to make weapons,” he protests.

“Then don’t. Study engineering and ask Tony if you could work for Stark Industries. Invent things people could need. Invent things to help people. There is so much you could do to make this world better and make Steve proud. Be a good man, like Erskine wanted Steve to be. Steve was never a perfect soldier, but a good man. Become a good man. Make plans to help him integrate whenever he comes back. James, you can change the world for the better, if you believe in it.”

Bucky shoots her a teary smile.

“You’re right. Some nights I dream about Steve, you know. Simple things, like him sitting here with us and trying to figure out how the TV works. Trying to catch up on music. Do you think he’d like Punk?”

Peggy smiles and laughs.

“I am pretty sure he would. Punk and Grunge are just like him. Rebellion against what’s wrong in this world.”

“Sometimes it feels like a chore to be his soulmate. Trying to live up to the expectations he must have.”

He looks at Peggy and meets her soft eyes.

“Those are your expectations, James. Not Steve’s. You are clever and funny. You care and you try. You do not give up when you are challenged. Remember when we first met? Everyone who asked about Steve asked about Captain America, the icon. You came up to me and asked me for Captain Rogers’s eye color. You draw a line between Steve and Captain America. And Steve is someone people forgot, because he was just a man.”

“But Captain America is not Steve. Not from what you told me.” Bucky says like it was the easiest and most obvious thing in the world, because to him it was.

“But people don’t see that. They learn about Captain America. Not Steve. You don’t talk about Captain America. You talk about Steve.” Her smile is soft and proud and makes Bucky feel light inside and he snuggled closer to her.

“I am glad he had a friend like you during the war,” he says to her and yawns.

“And I am glad he has a soulmate like you, James. Go to sleep. We talk tomorrow.”

~°-°~

When Bucky turns eighteen, he moves his stuff one floor up. The Starks bought the building when Peggy had decided to move to Brooklyn and only close friends of her or the Starks lives there. Even Howard’s former butler Edwin Jarvis now lives in the apartment next to Peggy and often visits for tea. Sometimes he invites them for dinner.

Bucky’s birthday is spend with what is left of his family, after Howard’s and Maria’s passing last year. At noon on the dot, Tony stands in front of Bucky’s new apartment.

“Why aren’t we out painting the town red? You could have moved here any day. The apartment was free for over two years. And you chose your birthday to do it?” he complains and watches Bucky move the furniture around.

“Oh leave him, dear. It is a special day for him,” Peggy says from behind Tony, who jumps in surprise.

“You scared me, Aunty Peggy.” He pouts and Bucky snickers. “Nope. Not like that. Not nice Buckaroo. Be nice,” he scolds.

“Master Tony. Don’t you remember how excited you were on your eighteenth?” Jarvis asks, standing behind Peggy. “I finished the cake if you boys want to come down.”

Bucky plugs in the new TV Tony had brought along in and clapped his hands happily.

“I’m done. All done. Moved in. One step closer to adulthood,” he says happily.

“And I hope you are already prepared for your All-American-Apple-Pie to move in as soon as I find him?” Tony asks smiling and Bucky turns around, almost tripping over.

“You what!?”

“Okay.” Tony reels back from Bucky’s sudden outburst. “Howard never really stopped looking and it may take a few more years, but I am working on a few things that could actually help us find Cap, wherever he went down.”

Bucky stares at him and even Peggy seems lost for words.

“That would be…” Bucky starts and Tony just shrugs it off.

“Great publicity, finding a national icon and uniting him with his soulmate.”

And as selfish this sounded from Tony, all three of them knew, he meant right the opposite. Bucky had become a little brother these past few years. Tony would probably try and find a way through hell to bring Bucky his soulmate back. Peggy and Edwin go back downstairs, while Tony is still looking at Bucky sheepishly and Bucky worries his lip, then he glances at the picture of Peggy and Steve he had framed. It had been taken in ’43 somewhere in France. He liked it.

“Thank you, Tony. I mean it. I know you don’t like to hear it. But thanks, okay. It means a lot to me.”

Silence.

Then.

“I know, kid. My soulmate means a lot to me too. But…” Tony shrugs. “It’s Pepper. I think she has me figured out by now, but look at me. I’m a mess. I’m a narcissist, a playboy and a big asshole.”

Bucky smiles at him sadly. “She sees something in you, Tony, even if you don't. Finding yourself takes longer for some. And I knew Howard, okay. I know what you had to live up to.”

Tony snorts. “Well. She’s still there. Maybe not all hope is lost, right?”

“Right. And now come on. Edwin made the cake.”

Tony lit up and turned around.

“You’ll get nothing. JARVIS THE CAKE IS MINE!” Tony yells, running down the stairs, nearly tripping over his own feet and falling. Bucky laughs and he hears Peggy and Edwin laugh as well from the apartment.

“I suggest you slow down a bit, Master Tony, before you fall and hurt yourself,” Edwin says handing Bucky a piece of cake while Tony whines. Bucky grins at him, lips pressed together, before bursting out laughing at Tony’s pout.

“For God’s sake, Tony. You’re older than me but behave like a five year old.” Bucky snorts and hands Tony the piece, who takes it and quickly and almost cradles it to his chest, making the other three laugh.

~°-°~

When Bucky is back in his apartment, putting up a few more decorations he had collected over the years, someone knocks on his open door. 

He looks over to see Tony hovering. He raises an eyebrow and waits.

“If you ever decide to study engineering and stuff, M.I.T. will await your letter and you can come over to my workshop even if you don’t study and I will show you whatever you want to know. Happy Birthday, Buckmaster”

Bucky smiles. “Thank you, Tony.”

Tony nods and turns to the stairs before looking back to Bucky.

“I want to give this big brother thing a try. Maybe then I can do this soulmate thing too, you know. You’re my little guinea pig. Lab rat rather, since you will probably work in my lab.”

Bucky snorts.

“Yeah, fine. Go home, you’re getting sappy.”

“Yeah. Enough emotions for this year. See you soon, Buckster.”

“Bye Tony. And I love you too.”

“LALALA CAN’T HEAR YOUR FEELINGS!”

“FUCK YOU TOO, TONY!”

“Language, James,” Peggy calls and Bucky blushes. He hears Tony on the stairs snicker.

“What are you chuckling about, Anthony?” she asks which makes Bucky chuckle in return. He still misses his family, his mom and his dad. But this family wasn’t all that bad, especially after how grief had changed his father.

~°-°~

When Bucky is 21 he is working on a prosthesis that connects to the spinal cord and is basically a replacement for a missing limb. Tony is proud of him, which is sometimes very scary if he thinks about it. Other times it makes him feel good about himself. Tony is teaching him everything and when Bucky goes back to M.I.T. all of the teachers accept that he is only coming there for the formalities, since some of his knowledge is more advanced than theirs.

He also works with SHIELD sometimes and he knows there is a note in his files, identifying him as Captain Steve Rogers’ soulmate, confirmed by Agent Carter herself.

His father had been killed in an accident about a year ago, a robbery in a supermarket. After the adoption his father hadn’t ever tried to contact him again, so Bucky had only read about it in the newspaper.

“Mr. Barnes, Agent Carter reminds you of the dinner plans she made last week for it is her 85th birthday today,” JARVIS, Tony’s newly installed AI in the New York Mansion reminds him. Tony spends his week in Malibu, preferring the weather over New York, but under the pretense of needing to install JARVIS in his Malibu-home.

“I know, JARVIS. I was about to finish up in the next few minutes. Would you run the tests overnight?” Bucky puts down his tools and swipes the sweat from his forehead. “Can I borrow one of Tony’s cars?”

“I have unlocked the underground garage for you, Mr. Barnes. Have a nice evening.”

“Thank you JARVIS. You will be seeing me tomorrow.” And as Bucky left the workshop the light behind him went out, only few of the machines still running. Bucky rode the elevator down to the small, by Tony’s standards, underground garage and he took one of the less pretentious cars, making his way through Manhattan traffic to Brooklyn.

Thirty minutes later, about ten minutes late he arrived at the tiny hole in the wall restaurant, easily spotting Dum-Dum Dugan. Bucky found the open spot between Peggy and Falsworth and sat down after Dugan had pulled him into a tight hug. There were five more empty spaces, each having a picture on their platter, photos of Steve, Edwin, Howard, Morita, and Jones.

“Now we’re complete,” Peggy says, pressing a light kiss against Bucky’s stubble. “You need to shave, James.”

“Oh what are you saying, Peggy. I did, just for you,” Falsworth, who shares the first name with Bucky, says grinning and Peggy shakes her head.

“Oh Monty, it is too late for you to get rid of your nickname.” Dum-Dum says grinning. “Jamie here is lucky he wasn’t with us in our Unit.”

“I just want to add that I think Jamie is even more ridiculous than Bucky, at least while referring to me,” Bucky said, body turned to Dum-Dum. The man just shrugs at him.

“We are just glad you are finally 21 so you can drink with us,” he gives back and waves to the waitress. “Could you bring us three beers? One for me and my friend over there and for our fella right next to him.”

The waitress nods and jots it down on her notepad, looking at Peggy and Jarvis for their order.

“What can I bring the both of you?”

“I’ll get a water,” Jarvis replies and Peggy nods.

“Likewise.”

~°-°~

Bucky is twenty-three when Pepper storms into his workshop at Stark Industries.

"Tony's convoy was attacked and he was taken."

"He got what now?" Bucky gulps as his screwdriver clatters to the ground. His legs feel like giving in. He sits down heavily on one of the chairs behind him, not caring about the parts of the arm he was working on that had cluttered to the floor.

“In Afghanistan. Rhodey just called me. Apparently on their way back to base they got attacked by a group of terrorists. No survivors and Tony was gone.”

“And your soulmark?”

“Still colorful,” Pepper says, weakly, pressing her hands into her face, starting to shake. Bucky gets up and walks closer, gripping her by the elbows and guiding her out of the workshop, towards the living room that was set up nearby.

“Wait here a minute. I’ll get you some water.” He says and she nods, hands combing through her hair. Bucky gets a glass of water from the kitchen and puts it in her hand, trying to make sure she won’t spill it over her clothes. His hands were surprisingly steady.

“Thank you, Bucky,” she says and he wraps his arms around her, holds her close and lets her cry into his shirt. They sit on the couch for hours, JARVIS quiet in the background except for a quick mention that Obadiah gave her the rest of the day off.

They order some Thai to pick up on their way to Peggy’s, where Happy drives them and Peggy is already waiting, having gotten a call from Bucky earlier. Shehelps Pepper up the stairs into Peggy’s guest bedroom. She leaves them to eat and when they are done, Bucky presses a chaste kiss against Pepper’s cheek and tells her to get some sleep.

“And will you be alright on your own, dear?” Peggy asks when Bucky leaves the room and strokes his cheek. He nods.

“I will. Tony is the most obnoxious person I know, they will bring him back in a few weeks because he couldn’t shut up.” Bucky deflects his worries with a joke and it makes Pepper in the bedroom behind Peggy chuckle weakly.

“And then I am going to punch him. How could he do this to his sweet Virginia?” Peggy says, sighing.

“It’s not his fault, Peggy,” Pepper replies and Peggy shakes her head.

“Everyone who looks at you can see you are Soulmates. It must hurt you so much to be minimised time and time again.”

“Peggy. He is just insecure and scared,” Pepper says and Bucky gives Peggy a kiss.

“I’m going upstairs, let you both discuss this on your own. Tell me if there is news.” He looks at Pepper, who closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Nods her head.

“Still there,” she mumbles and he nods, goes over to kiss her cheek softly, wish her a good night and leave for his apartment.

Upstairs, in his own apartment, he sits down in front of the sturdy desktop in the secondary guestroom and looks around, taking in the still unused easels leaning against the wall, the empty canvas next to the desk. The pens and brushes on the window seats.

Bucky pulls out one of the pieces of paper from the top drawer of the desk and an envelope and plucks the pen from its holder. It had been a present from Peggy when he turned 20 and he used it every time he wrote a letter.

_Hey Stevie,_

_A lot of time passed since the last letter. It’s been I think about 5 months. I told you about the work I do with Tony? I did, I’m sure. He went to Afghanistan a week ago, presenting a new weapon to the Soldiers there (yeah I wasn’t a big fan of it either, okay. But he still is the ‘Merchant of death’). Turns out he got kidnapped today. And believe me, even if he can be an obnoxious asshole sometimes, he is family and I love him. I am so scared. Pepper, his soulmate, she is devastated._

_I think I just needed someone to talk to and that someone is and always will be you. I wish we would have already found you._

_I just closed my eyes. I tried to imagine you sitting next to me and comforting me, telling we will get Tony back alive. Maybe he will pull a Steve? You know? Disappear, let everyone think you’re dead, but your soulmate knows? I think that is what he will do. He can’t let you have the upper hand now, can he?_

_Yes, Stevie, I know I’m trying to deflect. I just don’t want to think about a ‘what if’. I know he will be changed when you come back. You don’t get abducted and stay the same. You don’t nearly die and still are who you were._

_I don’t expect you to be who Peggy always tells me you were. Not completely anyways. I started going to the VA a few months ago. Told them my soulmate is a soldier and that I want to help him when he comes back home. You know that I will help you? I learned about PTSD, I think they called it shellshock back in your day, and don’t try to tell me you don’t have a trauma about what happened. You will have and I am there. I will always be with you, okay._

_Till the end of the line._

_That reminds me that Tony needs to come back. We are working on a program that should be able to detect the vibranium of your shield. We also have other programs and machines that should be able to find you, but that would be more trial and error than I’d like. Imagine finding something and hoping it’s you and then it’s just a ship the US sunk during the war. We don’t even know where you went down._

_Sometimes I want to know if you’re dreaming. If you’re dreaming about me. If you still see my name. I hope you do. Remember that I am here waiting. That I am still alive. The name should still be blue. So don’t give up please. For me? Just like Tony won’t give up for us._

_Steve, I want you to come home. I am scared you’re dying down there and I can’t do anything to help. I love you, Stevie. I did since the first time I saw this blue shine in the grayscale picture in my history book. It kills me ~~think~~ knowing you are down there all on your own, with no one to hold you. It’s been over 60 years. We miss you, Stevie. Please hold on. _

_\- Forever yours-_

_Bucky_

_(February 21 st, 2009) _

Tears run down Bucky’s cheek and he lets out a sob when he finishes, putting his small signature at the end of the letter. One of his tears falls onto the page and causes the name to blur. Bucky rereads the letter a few times but he got in the habit of not correcting his letters afterwards. They were a documentation of his deepest thoughts, like he would share them with Steve if he would be there. There was no changing when he would tell Steve all of that.

He barely sleeps that night, dreams of cold and ice and strong arms around him coming in the few hours he manages.

The next day JARVIS plays them a video, showing a group of terrorists reading out a ransom note, while multiple guns are directed at Tony. Bucky feels like he is going to throw up. Pepper excuses herself and takes one of Tony’s favorite whiskeys from his cabinet, opens it and pours herself. She doesn’t drink it, just keeps it in front of her, like the smell alone could bring Tony back.

A few hours later the news publishes the video.

When Bucky comes home, Peggy hands him a small box.

“You need it more than I do,” she says. Upstairs in his apartment, he opens it and finds a picture of Steve from before the serum. The turns it around and in Peggy’s beautiful handwriting it says ‘Steve’s first days in training camp, New Jersey’. Bucky falls asleep on his couch, picture cradled against his chest.

The next morning, Rhodey finds him in his workshop in Manhattan.

“Bucky.”

“Rhodey.”

They greet each other. Bucky sitting in front of his computer, trying to concentrate on the new blueprint of his prosthesis.

“These programs you and Tony developed…” Rhodey starts after a while and Bucky turns around, looking at his friend. “Tell me there is a way to find him.”

“Theoretically, I can find him. We are developing about ten different localization parameters right now. Fifteen if you add the ones I plan to develop for Army and similar.” He couldn’t tell him about SHIELD.

“He told me about the one you were working on to find traces of vibranium to find Steve’s shield.” Rhodey says and Bucky nods. “Then one that manages to scan whole areas for ships underwater and find their position which could also be helpful finding lost submarines. And one to find vital signs under water and ice.”

“Basically that’s what all programs do. Very likely to find Steve for example is a combination of all. Finding wrecks, scanning them for life signs.

“The programs I would use now need more fine-tuning, more data. I can use them but I would need to know where Tony could be. Data of what the area and what I am looking for. What I have to expect there to be and what will probably be out of place . I need to know what kind of technology they have in the area, large mineral deposits,  anything that could interfere with our satellites. There are too many factors to give you a definite yes, Rhodey.”

Rhodey takes a deep, unsteady breath.

“A maybe is right now more than anyone could give me so I take it. Can I help?”

“Tell me what to do,” Pepper says from the doorway. Bucky smiles.

“You both can help me,” he replies decisive and enthusiastic, “Pepper, the development of the prosthesis gets set back until we find Tony. Pass that on to the VA. I need his knowledge and his opinion before I continue. Rhodey, I need you to get me everything you have on where Tony got abducted and where they could hold him.”

Both give him a nod and Rhodey leaves immediately while Pepper stays behind.

“Thank you, Bucky,” she says, a wobbly smile on her lips. He shakes his head.

“Don’t thank me. Not for this. He is basically my brother. I’d burn down the world to save him.”

Pepper turns around, wanting to leave but Bucky keeps talking.

“Pep, I know how it is living with this kind of uncertainty. How it is to be scared to close your eyes to see the colors gone. But believe me if I say that the best you can do now is thinking about him and reassure him, everything will be fine. There is a bond between you. Give him hope, even if it feels like it won’t change a thing, he will know. And he will fight. I was his lab rat for feelings and family. Because he wants to make this work between the both of you.”

“I know, Bucky. I am just…”

“Unsure what will happen later?” She nods. “There is a reason you are his soulmate. All you need to do is be yourself. I wouldn’t be here if I had never asked Peggy so many questions about Steve.”

He turns back to his work and opens the code written by Tony a few weeks prior.

“JARVIS, gimme a roll call of our satellites tracking over Central Asia, ranked by how much bandwidth I can steal before anyone notices and interferes.” Bucky hears the door close behind him and closes his eyes, seeing the blue-lit names in front of him and takes a deep breath.

“If I can find Tony now, I can find you. Hold on, Stevie. For me.” And somewhere inside his chest, he feels a little pull, like an answer. A little ‘ _I’m here. I’m waiting’_ from Steve. Smiling, he gets to work.

~°-°~ 

In May, he finds an unauthorized cache of Stark Industries weapons not too far from where Tony was abducted. He sends the data to Rhodey.

A bit later he detects a moving energy source, close to the data profile of the mini arc-reactors he had build to power one of his prostheses. He forwards this information as well.

A few hours later he gets a call.

“Pepper! They found him!” he runs into the living room where Pepper had been asleep, trying to keep him company in case something comes up. She jerks awake.

“What?” Pepper asks, wide-eyed.

“They found him, he's okay! Rhodey has his hands actually ON him and is bringing him back to the States. They found him a few miles from the satellite trace and the base was more or less burned to the ground. It actually seems like Tony is the princess who saves herself and then pretends to be weak and helpless to be pampered. ”

Pepper sobs smiling and practically jumps into Bucky’s arms when he sits down next to her.

“Thank you, Bucky. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. You did it.” She pulls away, looking at him smiling. “And now you are one step closer to finding Steve. I am so happy for you.” She presses a kiss against his forehead.

“We should both go home, get changed,” Bucky says smiling and holds onto her forearms. She nods at him and stands up, pulling him along.

“Yes. We should.” Happy drives them to his and Peggy’s building, where Pepper had moved in shortly after Tony had been abducted.

The relief in the car was palpable. Happy had music playing in the background, Pepper was jiggling her leg and Bucky was actually smiling, thinking about how to further the programs to finally find Steve.

He feels something in his chest. A little pull, like back in February when he started working on the programs. It felt like his heart being pulled forward, like his heart is trying to jump out of his chest and dance a lindy-hop right here in the car. It feel like Steve is smiling at him. A well done, from his soulmate.

Tears well up in Bucky’s eyes and he doesn’t know he had started to cry until Pepper cupped his face in her hands.

“Bucky. What is wrong?”

“He… He is proud, Pepper. Steve knows what I’ve done and he is so proud. I made him proud.”

Pepper laughs breathily and nods.

“You were amazing, Bucky. Naturally he is proud of you. He’d be mad not to.”

Happy opens the door and Pepper helps Bucky out of the car and into the building. Tears are still streaming down Bucky’s cheeks and as Peggy opens the door she pulls him into her fragile arms.

“Oh, James, dear. What is wrong?”

“Steve is proud of me. He is proud,” he sobs and buries his face in her neck while she lets her hands comb through his short hair.

At Peggy’s confused look, Pepper jumps in for an explanation.

“Bucky found Tony. Though I am not sure how he has the connection to Steve.”

Peggy steers Bucky towards the couch and sits Pepper down.

“I am sure you learned how soulmates came to be. Or at least the names written in the stars, as some call it.” Bucky leans back in the couch, wiping away the tears, listening to Peggy telling the tale again.

“Soulmates existed, even before the spell was cast, we just couldn’t ever recognize them. But souls were always connected. Souls always had a bond. Some souls longed harder to be reunited with their other half than others. Souls are what we are, souls make us human.

“When two souls long strong enough for each other they can create a bond. When two souls are searching for their counterpart and the longing for comfort is strong enough they can reach out even over miles and miles and miles. In sleep, in coma, it even has been heard of that some could feel their other half after their death. Not all souls create a bond strong enough to transport feelings, even less a bond to transport thoughts. But all souls are connected, always remember that, Virginia.

“I'm not surprised James and Steve have a bond strengthened by longing and loneliness. A bond created for comfort and connection. Imagine how Steve must feel wherever he is. Imagine you are numbed, in a coma and there is nothing, just quiet and dark and then, one day there is a spark on your soul. A spark and you know, that they are here, they are on earth. And they know you are alive, even if they don’t yet know what happened to you. Despite having never met, James’ devotion and sheer stubbornness is more than enough to forge such a strong bond.”

“I have never felt him, Aunt Peggy. Not before February, at least.” Bucky says, frowning and Peggy smiles.

“And that’s where I am sure you are wrong. You’ve taken on everything live threw at you in stride, as if your soulmate was already by your side. No matter what you had to face, there had always been a calm and a certainty behind everything you’ve done despite your young age. In here, you’ve always known that Steve was alive.” She says and pokes at Bucky’s sternum and looks at him with a certainty that overwhelmed him. “But I think he has always been _with_ you as well.

“Now Tony happened and the bond got stronger because both of your souls knew you needed him now more than ever. He felt everything you felt and I am sure you will be able to communicate through it sooner rather than later. I’ve never met two stronger and more stubborn souls than yours and his.”

Peggy smiles at him reassuringly and something in his chest feels like its pulling itself together, all air is leaving his body, before just seconds later Bucky is yet again able to breathe and the warmth in his chest stays. Maybe that was what a hug from a super-soldier feels like. Maybe soon he’ll know for real

~°-°~

“Why are you so convinced this is just another useless wreck?” Bucky asks Tony and pulls the thick winter jacket on. Tony steps inside his Iron-Armor.  

“Why are you so convinced that it’s the right wreck?” Tony asks with a cocky smile and Bucky growls.

“Boys. Stop fighting. Anthony, would you please believe James when he says that this is it?”  Peggy scolds them through the communication system they set up.

“I never had a feeling like this with the other wrecks, Tony.” Bucky drops his act of confidence and his shoulders slump and his hands are stuffed into warm, thick gloves. “I am sure. I just… I just know it’s him. I need it to be him.”

He sees Tony roll his eyes and sigh. The warm patch in Bucky’s chest gets a bit warmer. And something pulls at him. They both step out into the cold along with the rest of the SHIELD team that was already carving out an entrance into the wreck.

“Barnes! You want to go in first?” one of the Agents calls him over and he jogs carefully over the snow and ice towards the wreckage.

“Yes, please.”

Tony lands next to him and Bucky get handed a little flashlight.

“I’ll take you down and you can snoop around all you want,” the billionaire says, letting his face plate snap open and Bucky can see the compassion that is so rare for Tony, even rarer after everything that had happened in Afghanistan. Even Tony wanted Bucky’s gut to be right.

They land inside the wreckage, everything iced over and Bucky can see his breath. He turns the temperature control of his jacket up. He sees a blue shine coming from the front of the plane and gets closer, nearly slipping on the ice. Tony gets to him in time and keeps him steady.

“Thanks.” Bucky says absently and goes further, when he sees it. The blue and red reflects from something on his right. “Call back into headquarters,” he turns to Tony, eyes wide, and the billionaire, who was eyeing one of the machines turns to Bucky. Bucky points at the shield, leaning against the pilot seat. Tony’s mouth drops open.

“JARVIS, I need the big cooler from the jet. And call in to SHIELD, we found Captain Rogers.”

Bucky looks around. If there was his shield, Steve had to be here, somewhere. He hears something, like a whisper of air but there is nothing he can feel that could have indicated that sound. He takes a few steps forward and sinks to his knees.

“Bucky?” Tony asks and Bucky places his gloved hand on the block of ice underneath one of the consoles. He hears Tony coming closer, but focuses on the indistinct shape in the ice, on the blue shine only he can see.

He looks up to Tony.

“It’s him. He’s here. Asleep.”

He can hear another whisper of air rushing through the room but can’t feel it on his exposed skin or in his hair.

“We’ll carve his block of ice out and bring him to the jet. There we put him into the big cooler I brought and then we can slowly defrost him in Stark Tower and I’ll fly in the best doctors on standby.” Tony says and Bucky nods, tears welling up in his eyes and he turns back to Steve. Behind him he hears other SHIELD Agents enter the wreckage but he stays focused on the block of ice.

“Hey,” he murmurs. “I’m here, Stevie. I found you. I’ll get you out. I found you,” he says sobbing and lets the tears of relief fall onto the ice. They hurt rolling over his cheek and he quickly dries his eyes with the warm inside of his glove.

Suddenly the gush of air comes again, but this time, it makes sense to him, because he can hear a voice, clear in his head.

_‘Hey. Finally.’_ The voice sounds bemused and Bucky lets his forehead rest on the ice. He just knows it’s Steve’s voice and it fills his chest with warmth. 

“Punk,” he whispers, chuckling and then takes a step back as Tony’s lasers start to carve out the block of ice.

Bucky is twenty-six when he finally finds his soulmate.

~°-°~

Back on the jet they tune Peggy and Fury in, holograms showing up on the two empty seats.

“Report, Agent Barnes,” Fury demands and Peggy shushes him. Bucky smiles at her. Clears his throat.

“I can confirm the recovery of the detected vibranium.” He holds up the already thawed shield and Peggy takes in a sharp breath. “And the recovery of Captain Rogers, and I can confirm he is alive and that he has a degree of situational awareness.”

“How can you be so sure about this, Agent?” Fury asks and Bucky sits up straighter.

“Because of our bond, Sir. He was able to communicate with me through it.”

“So you can exchange thoughts?” Peggy asks smiling and he nods.

“We can, yes. I think Captain Rogers is eager to be thawed.”

_‘Only when you stop calling me Captain Rogers, James,’_ he hears a voice in his head and it makes him smile.

_‘Then stop calling me James. It’s Bucky.’_

_‘I know.’_ Comes the soft reply.

“Did he just say something?” Peggy asks, when Fury logs off and his hologram disappears. Tony, now out of his suit, sits down. Bucky nods.

“Yeah. Told me I should stop calling him Captain Rogers.” It makes Peggy chuckle.

“Yes, that does sound like him. It will be fine.”

Tony shakes his head.

“You and Dad tell totally different stories about Capsicle here. Dad always described him as the All-American-Goody-Two-Shoes and then I remember you,” he gestures to Peggy, “calling him a troublemaker just a few weeks ago.”

Peggy smiles faintly. “He went against Commander Phillips’ orders and made your father fly him into enemy territory to rescue hundreds of soldiers.”

“Yes. To do the right thing,” Tony says, shrugging and Peggy shakes her head.

“Yes and no. I can't say that Steve didn't enjoy defying Phillips out of spite, but there was no way Steve was going to accept that there was nothing that could be done. So he decided to prove him wrong.”

“You told me about the fight he got in with Hodges in training.” Peggy sighs happily and nods, lost in thoughts and Tony sits up straight.

“What? What fight?”

“That is actually not that interesting. Only a few pranks he played on Hodges, a recruit who couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Better are the stories from when Steve stole Dum-Dum a tank from the Germans as a birthday present in ’43.”

~°-°~

Phil Coulson stands next to Bucky who is watching the robot arms slowly reheating the water around Steve.

“Agent Barnes,” Phil says smiling and Bucky narrows his eyes at him.

“You only ever call me Agent when you want something, Phil.”

Phil smiles sheepishly and ducks his head. “I just…” he fiddles with the cuffs of his suit. “I just have this really old collection of Trading Cards and…”

Bucky holds up a hand, stopping Phil mid-sentence. “You want them signed, right?”

Phil looks at him hopefully. Bucky’s face softens. He knows how much of a Captain America fan Phil is and gives the man a smile.

“Let me ease him into the new century. Let the doctors make an assessment of his mental state. I’ll get back to you about it, but give him a few months. I’m not springing this on him when there are admittedly much more important things he has to learn first.”

Phil lights up and nods feverishly.

“Naturally. Yeah. You’re right. Thank you so much, Bucky.” They turn back towards the window. “How is he doing?”

“I think he’s doing fine. He says he’s beginning to feel a change in temperature. I’m pretty sure he will start to hurt when the ice around his skin is gone, but that will mean his body is starting to function normally again. Hopefully the serum means the pain will be short-lived.”

Phil grabs him by the shoulders and turns Bucky to face him.

“Don’t tell me you have a thinking bond with Captain America?”

Bucky snorts.

“I won’t tell you then,” he says grinning and Phil turns white as a sheet.

“You… you can hear what he’s thinking? I thought you were only picking up feelings?”

“When I found him I could hear him, plain as day. I can hear what he wants me to hear, and vice versa. We haven’t been talking much but he already scolded me for calling him Captain Rogers.”

Phil nods slowly, before his phone beeps and he looks down at it frowning.

“Go. I promise I’ll invite you over for dinner when Steve’s ready for company.”

Phil unexpectedly pulls him in for a quick hug.

“Thank you. Thank you. You are the best Bucky Barnes, I could kiss you.”

“Please don’t. Barton doesn’t miss and I am not keen on having a sharp shooter on my tail. And now go,” he says grinning and nudges Phil towards the exit.

He enters the room, watching the rise of the water temperature on the monitor over the big tank. When they had arrived at Stark Tower, Bucky and Tony had used radiant heaters and small lasers, cutting off most of the ice around Steve, till there was only a bit more than a half foot around Steve. Slowly, Tony’s robots had submerged the rest of the Super soldier in water, barely warmer than the ice itself.

They had kept the temperature steady, only mere degrees warmer than the ice around Steve. Steve’s helmet, frozen next to his thigh, drifted up in the water. Bucky chuckled and took it out of the cold water before eyeing it.

_‘Bet I look really stupid if I wear it?’_ he asks Steve and puts the helmet on. Takes out his phone and snaps a photo with it. It was too big for him on his head and he grins. _‘Your heads too big, Stevie. Bet that’s all the stubbornness. Needs a lot of place.’_

_‘Oh shut up.’_ It sounds amused and he feels a giddiness in his chest that isn’t his. _‘I bet you look gorgeous. If not, your eyes make up for it.’_

Bucky lets out a snort. _‘You’re a little shit,’_ he retorts. He takes a step closer to the tank and takes off his jacket, leaving him in a white undershirt. Then he slowly puts his hand into the water and searches for Steve’s hand. It feels like parts of the skin are already freed of ice.

_‘Can you feel anything?’_ he asks Steve.

_‘My foot hurts. Why does it hurt, Bucky?’_ Bucky takes his hand out of the water and walks to Steve’s feet.

_‘It could be that your skin starts to react to the slight rise of temperature. That’s good. If it hurts, it’s not dead. You should try and sleep. You’ll be warm and not hurt anymore when you wake up. I promise.’_

_‘You’ll be there?’_

_‘Nothing can get me away from you. Not now that I have you.’_

_‘Okay’_ he hears Steve reply and reaches for Steve’s feet in the water. As expected he feels the leather of Steve’s boots, only single, small crumbs of ice. Loose enough that they disconnect from the boot when Bucky touches them.

“You will be fine, Steve. I promise,” he whispers and feels a twitch in Steve’s foot, seeing it as a good sign.

Later, when Steve is freed and his body is starting to heat up, Peggy hands Bucky a pair of sweatpants and a shirt she had brought from Bucky’s apartment and sends him to get Steve out of his suit and dressed that they can pack him into a suit in Stark Tower and wait for him to wake up.  

~°-°~

Steve wakes up. The first thing he notices is the white ceiling in the room, the mask over his face and the needles in his arms. He groans and lifts his hand to get the mask off his face.

“Hey.” He hears an amused voice. “What are you doing?”

A face appears in his field of view. The chin length brown hair frames sharp features and Steve knows these eyes, knows the color better than anything else in this world because he’s seen nothing else since he crashed the Valkyrie into the freezing depths.

“Bucky,” he says, mesmerized and stares up at the man above him, slowly lifting his hand to cup Bucky’s cheek.

“Hey Steve. Slept well?” Bucky asks smiling and helps Steve sit up and lean against the headboard of the bed he was lying in. Bucky helps him remove the mask.

“How long?”

“Since we last spoke, if you want to call it that,” Bucky says, tapping his temple, “ten hours. Since you crashed the Valkyrie… almost seventy years, Steve. The year’s 2011 and we found you about two days ago.”

“You,” Steve says through the shock, “You found me.” Then he smiles at Bucky lightly. “And you’re here. Because you promised.”

“Because I don’t want to be anywhere else but here.”

“Seventy years, you said? Where are we?”

“In New York.” Bucky says, “Stark Tower, named after my friend Tony, who helped me find you. He’s Howard’s son.”

“Howard? Is he…?” Steve trails off.

“Howard died a few years ago. As did most of the Commandos. I met most of them though. I think they approved of me as your soulmate. Dum-Dum is still alive though. He’s outside in the living room. One hundred years old and refusing to die before seeing you once more. That’s what he says, at least,” Bucky replies laughing. Steve smiles faintly and tugs at the needles in his arm.

“Leave them in. A nurse will come by later. You needed sustenance.”

Steve nods.

“Peggy?” he asks, worrying his lip and on his left someone clears their throat.

“Looking different, but still alive, Steve,” the old woman says and Steve jerks up straighter.

“Pegs?” he says, voice thick and the woman, Peggy, nods. She comes closer and he wraps his arms carefully around her fragile body, burying his face in her neck.

“You’re alive. You… you… did you ever…?”

“Find Angie? Yes. I did. She died in ’94 from cancer. But we had a lovely life together. A few years later I met James over here and we made ourselves a new family.”

“How did you meet?” Steve asks and Bucky lets Peggy in the chair he had occupied before Steve had come in and he now sits cross legged at the foot of the bed.

“We met when I was thirteen. Peggy came to school, talking about the War,” Bucky says nonchalant and when Steve turns his head to Peggy he sees a glint in her eyes and she smiles softly.

“Afterwards he came to me and asked about your eye color. That’s when I found out he was your James. We lived in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn, and he began visiting. He moved in with me when he was sixteen and now has the apartment above mine. I introduced him to what was left of the Commandos.”

“They are all dead?” Steve asked and Peggy nods.

“Dum-Dum is outside in the living room. We are the last ones left,” Peggy says smiling and shrugging. “James, dear. Would you go and get him in here?”

Bucky nods and gets up. Winks at Steve, then leaves the room.

“He is a great kid, Steve. He loves you dearly. You will quickly find out that Captain America became an icon in this world. But people know the uniform, not the person underneath. James saw past the symbols. I noticed as soon as we met. The only thing he was ever interested in was you. Not the uniform. It took a lot of work but we found people who still knew you before the War. Neighbors kids, mostly. It wasn’t much but everything they told him, he took to heart. Trust him to take care of you.”

“He is my soulmate. I always would.”

She smiles kindly and nods.

“Good. Believe me when I say he has been waiting and searching, and he’s ready for his soulmate and prepared for everything that will entail. He knows it will take time for you to adjust and is prepared to introduce you into this new world and this new life. You don’t have to get through this alone Steve. You have us. Always.”

Steve nods smiling and kisses her hand.

“I know. I won’t take it for granted.”

~°-°~

Bucky’s phone rings and he groans, turning in Steve’s arms towards the nightstand. He feels Steve shift and lets a reassuring calm float through their bond and Steve settles.

Bucky had learned after the first nightmares that the bond could be used to soothe Steve regardless of whether he was asleep or awake and then he would wrap himself around his soulmate as tight as he was able to.

                Coulson < Suit up and be ready for pickup in 30. Barton is compromised. >

Bucky groans and turns around looking at Steve, face glowing in the light of the stars shining through their window.

He cups Steve’s cheek with his hand and smiles down at Steve.

“Hey. Stevie.”

Steve groans.

“Steve. We’ve got a mission. You need to wake up.”

Steve slowly opens is eyes and grins at Bucky lazily. “Do we have to?”

“Yeah. One of my friends is in danger. Not to mention the world,” Bucky replies, dipping his head to press his lips against Steve’s.

“I don’t even have a suit,” Steve says, when Bucky pulls away.

“It’s on the carrier. Come on. Get dressed. You will love it. I promise.” Bucky’s eyes glint mischievously.

And he’s right. Steve loves it.

~°-°~

They are in Stuttgart and finally Steve has gotten the situation under control when the loud music starts up, marking the entrance of a fast bolt of red and gold.

The red-golden suit dips down to the ground next to Steve and all weapons it has point at the Alien Loki.

“Make your move, Reindeer Games.” Loki puts up his hands and surrenders, the weapons around the suit disappear. “Good move.”

“Mr. Stark,” Steve says and it sounds weird out of his mouth. It’s been so long since he called someone Mr. Stark after working with Howard for so long.

“Captain. It’s nice to see you out of the ice. Would have said hi, but I was busy. Hope Barnes is treating you well.”

Steve smiles faintly and they cuff Loki, Natasha taking the Alien from them and strapping him to the seat.

“Yeah. Yeah he is,” he replies Tony and next to each other, they get on the jet where Bucky is already waiting for them. 

“Ahhh. Buckaroo. There you are.”

“Sure. I’m not straying far from where Steve is.” And a wave of affection comes through the bond.

“Yeah. Isn’t that true. It’s been hell getting away from Pepper. I just never want to let her go again.”

Bucky grins and bites his lip.

“Good to know you finally pulled your head outta your ass, Tony.”

~°-°~

Steve runs through the streets towards where his bond his pulling him. Stark flew the missile into the portal and Natasha deactivated it when suddenly the bond opened and Steve was hit with a wave of pain, that had made him double over. His shoulder had been on fire and Clint who had climbed down from his building ran over to the group that had gathered around Stark.

“Steve?” he had asked but Steve had gasped Bucky’s name and started running.

He finds Bucky behind a turned over car.

“Bucky.” There is blood all over Bucky’s left side and not far from where he is sitting Steve can see why. Bucky lifts his head and looks over to Steve.

“Hey,” he says weakly. “Sorry. Didn’t want the bond to distract you.”

“Are you mad? God, Bucky,” Steve shouts and crouches down to inspect Bucky’s left side. “Never, NEVER EVER think that again. Stupid.”

Tears are running down Steve’s cheek and Bucky uses his right hand to wipe them away.

“Stevie,” he says softly and Steve shakes his head.

“We’ve got to get you to the med bay. How are you not bleeding out? I don’t get it,” Steve asks hysterical, now that the fight is over the calm mask of Captain America slipping away.

“It’s something I have been working on in connection to the prosthesis-program of Stark Industries. It’s a spray of short living nano-bots. If applied to the skin, they burn hot and cauterize the wound. An easy way to close deep and bleeding wounds.”

They hear footsteps coming closer. Tony appears in their peripheral vision.

“Bucky,” he says breathlessly and Bucky shakes his head.

“It’s enough when one of you panics. I will be fine. I can admit it’s not great but it’s not the end of the world, guys. I’ll be fine.”

“How do you know that? Bucky, you lost an arm,” Steve chokes out and Bucky can see and feel him trying to keep the tears from spilling.

“And how are you still so coherent?” Tony wonders aloud.

“Guys, come on. At least now I don’t have to find someone to test my final prototype and as chance would have it it’s a left arm. As for the pain, the nano-spray numbs the nerves and I’ve got mine and a super-soliders worth of adrenalin running through me. That helps too.” He stares at the two men and lets Steve help him up. “Maybe Doctor Banner and Doctor Cho can lend me a hand with the rest. And for how I know that I’ll be alright.” He looks up to Steve, “I have you now. That’s everything I could possibly need in my life.”

Steve dips his head forward and presses his lips softly against Bucky’s.

“Till the end of the line?”

Bucky laughs . “You found the letters,” he said accusingly but with no heat.

(From the side Tony grins at them. They’d be alright. And maybe he should send Pepper a ‘sorry for almost dying… again’ present.)


End file.
